A Summery Birthday Present

I may be admitting my weirdness here, but I really like putting presents in appropriate bags (that match the gift) and calling it a "*whatever* in a bag!"  I think it started with the "Fort in a Bag kit" I made last year for my niece and nephew.  I love making stuff and putting it together in a way that feels homemade and well-thought out.  Something that fits a theme but also fits the person receiving it.  Whatever the case, I have a few "in a bag" ideas for you this time around, too!

I made this gift for my nephew last month.  He's a typical rough and tumble just turned 7 year old and he LOVES waging wars - nerf guns, suction cup arrows, foam swords, you name it.  It's summer, obviously, so right now he LOVES water guns.  I made him a:

Everything you need to have one epic water battle contained in a water-friendly bag!

First up, I made some sponge bombs.  I've actually been wanting to try them out, and this was a good excuse to make some.  Now I need to go buy a million more sponges and make a ton for my kids before summer's over!  I was kind of in a hurry when I made them, so I didn't take pictures of the process, but there are a lot of tutorials for them out there.

I love this colorful version, by Michelle Paige.  Her tutorial is easy to follow.

She used a mop refill, sponges and cleaning cloths cut into strips - adds a lot of color and pizazz with the polka dots.  She also used zip ties to keep them together, whereas I used twine.  Zip ties seem like a great idea - it's much easier to get them tight enough and they won't loosen over time.  I've also seen tutorials where a hair elastic was used.

After I made the bombs, it was time to assemble all the elements of the battle together.

First of all, I made a little tag for the sponge bombs (I just used a circle punch and hand wrote the message, but you can print it from the computer or whatever.) It says "Sponge bombs! Dunk 'em, Squeeze 'em, Throw 'em!"
There were four bombs total.  I made two purple/yellow and two green/yellow - so there were two per opposing teams of the fight.  Then I added a purple shooter and a green shooter (one for each opposing team), and for my nephew some goggles (Spiderman, of course), a package of 100 water balloons and a towel.  (Thanks Dollar Store, for keeping this an economical present!) 
The bag is a woven, plastic-y beach bag from Walmart.
The tag I tied around the handles says: "Water Fight in a Bag! Everything you need for an epic battle!  *just add water*"

Here are some other ideas to make this gift even more personal and fun!

1. Beach Bag (made from a towel) - Betwixxt on The Melrose Family
2. No-Sew Mesh Bottom Beach Bag - Discount Queens
3. Transparent Beach Bag - Inspiration&Realization
4. Mesh Pool Toy Duffel - Delia Creates

5. PVC Water Blaster - (hello awesomest thing EVER!) Popular Science
6. Wash Cloth Pom-Poms - Make and Takes
7. Water Balloon Piñata - Ziggity Zoom (You could include the string, balloons and a little funnel, along with instructions to make it!)
8. Spray Bottles - East Coast Mommy (You could get the clear ones, decorate and dress them up and use them instead of guns!)

I think this is the perfect kid gift for any summer birthdays!  What kid doesn't love cooling off in the summer by getting crazy and wet in a water fight?  It would also be fun as a "welcome summer" gift for your own kids after school lets out!

Lots more coming up!  Stick around!

*Be sure to check the right sidebar for all the fun parties I link to!